We Investigated Etherxspark: Legit or Scam? The Facts

Recently, Etherxspark.com service surfaced, promoting itself as a place to keep cryptocurrency and other assets securely. I managed to gather reliable evidence that unmistakably reveals it is, actually, a fraudulent site.

Despite the promises of the most easy, dependable, and client-friendly service, Etherxspark.com does not follow any of them. In fact, all this is just a golden wrap around a dirty scam, which steals your money and data and never returns them. Any stories about bonuses, sponsorship from celebrities etc are non-existent as well.

It is better to prevent, than repair and repent!

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Etherxspark Scam Overview

Originally, Etherxspark poses as a cryptocurrency trading & cryptowallet service with exceptionally low commission fees. Another notable marketing point for this platform is backing from celebrities that are known as crypto activists. Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Vitalii Buterin, Jeff Bezos – the site claims having significant support from them. To make these claims look real, con actors employ AI-generated videos with those celebs advertise the scam as if it was the best thing in the world. For obvious reasons, Elon Musk is the most common among them. But, as I said in the introduction, all this is just a glaring wrap around a transparent scam.

Etherxspark Scam

To begin with, Etherxspark shares the appearance of multiple equivalent websites. There are quite a few examples, like Zaglex, Xelonmex or Xcoinwex. They are completely indistinguishable in terms of graphic elements, with minor discrepancies in the website header. Other specific elements, and sometimes even crypto wallet addresses, are matching. Presumably, all these scam websites are operated by the same group of fraudsters.

Cryptocurrency Scam Summary

How the Etherxspark Scam Works?

Etherxspark is a part of a large cryptocurrency scam scheme that started circulating actively in 2023. Scammers who stand behind it use numerous website designs, which still share the same overall layout. Another mutual element are the ways the scams like NAME are promoted, and the manner all this ends up to the victim of the scam. To reach peak efficiency, frauds apply complex psychological tricks that make the user believe in the validity of the website. But let’s review them one by one.

Step 1: Promotion

To begin the fraud, criminals establish and fill accounts on well-liked social media platforms. They mainly aim at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Subsequently, the advertising campaign starts. Employing bots and sponsored ads (when possible), scam actors intensify the exposure of their scam activities to possible victims. And as I said, scammers do not disdain using deepfake for creating videos with the aforementioned celebs that advertise their scam to the public. To boost the folks even more, deceivers claim the bonus for every user who joins the service immediately.

Promotions of cryptoscams like Etherxspark in TikTok. Most of these videos are AI-generated deepfakes

Users get an incentive to register, enticed by the commitment of obtaining crypto benefits valued at thousands of dollars, all for free. To augment the attractiveness of the offer, false suggestions of sponsorship by a celebrity are added. As you may guess, these claims are completely baseless.

Step 2: Gaining Traffic

After following the promotions, victims end up on a page filled with attractive offers. “Crypto starts with Etherxspark”, “Your crypto savings are secured with Etherxspark, “Start earning with Etherxspark – they look rather credible. To heat up the interest and make the users proceed to step 3, scammers say that retrieving the promised bonus requires registration. And since nothing concerning happens at this point, uninformed users happily proceed – especially as the reward appears to be right behind the corner.

At this point, it is possible to get away from the scam without any losses. Before you sign up using your personal info, crooks will not earn even a penny from your presence on the website.

Step 3: Data Gathering

This is where the main fraud action begins. As I just mentioned, deceivers bait folks for registration with bonuses. And all the personal information needed for it – email, username, cryptocurrency wallet address – is valuable for user identification. Solely by gathering this info and selling it further into the Darknet, fraudsters can earn quite a penny. Nonetheless, their plans go much further.

As it turns out, the alleged bonus is not available for withdrawal right away. To make at least crypto purchases on the platform with it, the user should top up the account with the sum of a bonus. And this is what initiates the final stage of the scam.

Step 4: Requesting funds

Obviously, any crypto purchases require having money on your account. With Etherxspark, users are also forced to top up to claim the bonuses. And these top ups is what creates most of the money flow to this scam website. By topping up the account, users hope to get the promised gift (usually $500-1000 in USDT), and may start trading on this website hoping to use all the credited capital and withdraw them.

This, however, is where the first obvious problems start to surface. When comparing the actual crypto wallet vs what the site says, you can observe that no transactions are done whatsoever. And then, when you’d try to pull out the capital from your account, the scam is finally uncovered to the user.

Step 5: Escaping from Funds Withdrawal

There’s no need to explain that swindlers are naught on intentions to give your money back. But to make the fraud look more realistic, they’ve developed a whole pack of reasons to decline the wireout request. Most of them repeat what Know Your Client guidelines say, but for the Etherxspark.com they are here exclusively to make the withdrawal impossible.

By requesting your personal info, scammers just stall hoping for you to understand that you’ve been scammed and stop contacting them. If you don’t – well, there are numerous other checks you should go through before getting your money back. And every check will uncover more and more info of yours, which – you guessed it right – will be then traded on the Darknet. Never reveal your real info to strangers!

Signs of Scam

I gathered several facts that point at the scammy nature of the Etherxspark.com. Actually, there are a lot of scams that fall under the same points, so they are pretty much universal.

• False Celebrity Sponsorship. Etherxspark often resorts to fake endorsements from celebrities such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mr. Beast, and Mark Zuckerberg. This fraudulent tactic extends to claiming partnerships with reputable companies like Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask, despite lacking any genuine affiliations.
• Cryptocurrency-Only Payments. Etherxspark.com exclusively accepts payments in cryptocurrencies, rejecting traditional bank transfers and other methods. This approach not only masks the company’s identity but also eliminates the possibility of seeking refunds.
• Dubious Company Information. Etherxspark raises suspicion by withholding essential ownership, location, and registration details. Furthermore, the absence of legitimate contact information and the recent establishment of domain and social media pages intensify skepticism.
• Unsubstantiated Hype. Etherxspark.com employs groundless hype tactics, fabricating events like securing contracts with Coinbase or receiving endorsements from Elon Musk. These manipulative techniques aim to instill false confidence and encourage further investments.
• Potential Pyramid Scheme. The scam relies on a structure resembling a Ponzi scheme, leveraging a referral system spread through social media. However, only initial participants benefit, often at the expense of subsequent investors.
• Implausible Claims. Promising returns of 50-100-200%, Etherxspark preys on the desire for quick profits. Yet, the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market makes such gains highly unlikely, definitively labeling Etherxspark as a scam.

What Should I do as a Victim?

If you had to deal with Etherxspark site and fell victim to that scam, there are still some steps to take. They will make further scam attempts harder, and also boost the knowledge about that scam among folks.

• Immediate Reporting. Your initial step should involve promptly notifying local authorities specializing in financial fraud. Extend your reach by reaching out to wallet providers and engaging with social networks’ technical support teams. These actions serve to raise the bar for the scammers’ operations.
• Share among Friends. Amplify your efforts by informing your close friends about the scam. Similar to informing authorities, this dissemination of information restricts the scammers’ potential victim pool.
• Preserve Crucial Information. Compile a comprehensive evidence archive by capturing screenshots and archiving all relevant website-related data. Collect the website URL, screenshots of the main page, login interface, end-user license agreement (EULA), account top-up menu, and wallet addresses. These records could provide vital clues for authorities in their pursuit of the scammers.
• Exploring Refund Options. While most banks’ refund policies may exclude cryptocurrency payments, it’s advisable to explore potential refund avenues under specific circumstances. Maintain hope until you obtain confirmation of the loss.
• Transform Loss into Knowledge. Turn your financial setback into an opportunity for growth. View your loss as an investment in understanding the strategies employed by crypto scam sites. Familiarize yourself with their telltale characteristics, the methods they employ to entice individuals, and the extravagant promises they make. Equipped with this insight, you’ll be well-prepared to spot and evade future traps without suffering additional financial setbacks.

Scan your system for possible malware infections

Beware of cross scams! Scam actors can use your trust to make you download some stuff or interact with certain documents. It may be a trap that installs malware to your system. There are no moral barriers or limits for these scoundrels.

Throughout the duration of the fraud, its actors may get in touch with you with specific files. Alternatively, they may offer you to install “cryptocurrency wallet applications” or “browser extensions” to simplify access to your cryptocurrency assets. As we earlier determined, these scammers have no plan of restoring your capital. So, what can these emails and browser add-ons represent? Correct – that is another side of the fraudulent scheme designed to entice you into willingly running malicious programs onto your computer.

Both add-ons and attachments attached to email messages can act as a carrier for diverse malicious code. In this scenario, I foresee the presence of spyware and stealers among all kinds of malicious programs. While it is not mandatory for scammers to distribute malware, the likelihood is always greater than zero. As noted, their morality is of negligible importance, and their reputation is already deeply compromised. They have no scruples to give up and aim to maximize revenues.

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